Maryland lawmakers and Governor O'Malley's adminstration have come to an agreement on the wording of a DNA collection law. The original language, supported by Governor O'Malley, allowed police to take DNA samples from people arrested for violent crimes or burgalary.  Members of Maryland's legislature disagreed with the regulation, and contended that DNA should only be collected from those who had been formally charged with a crime.  The two sides were able to reconcile their differences during a legislative session.

The Baltimore Sun published an article concerning a Baltimore judge who has ordered the city police to search for DNA evidence from a 1975 rape case or face a fine. In January, Circuit Judge Wanda K. Heard ordered the Baltimore police department to search storage facilities for any DNA evidence remaining from John Williams Simms' 1977 trial. Judge Heard gave the prosecutor and police 90 days to submit a written report detailing their efforts. To date, no report has been filed.

The Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project just published its annual newsletter. The newsletter provides updates about the organization’s most significant activities of the past year. To read it, follow the link below.

On October 17, 2007, MAIP’s Executive Director made a presentation to Virginia’s Forensic Science Board, asking the Board to endorse a change to Virginia’s post-conviction DNA testing statute that would allow prisoners to obtain types of DNA testing not performed by the state lab.

The New York Times today featured a first-page article on the ways in which DNA exonerations are causing states to re-think their laws on access to DNA evidence, crime lab oversight, and the way that eyewitness identification procedures are conducted. The article highlights recent changes in Maryland law that were supported by the Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project. Meanwhile, the Washington Post featured an editorial on the problem of false confessions.

The Governor of North Carolina recently signed into law three bills that aim to prevent wrongful convictions. The laws implement procedures that MAIP has long advocated, including a requirement that in-person lineups and photo arrays be conducted by a neutral administrator who does not know which participant is the suspect. The bills also require the recording of custodial interrogations in homicide cases and the preservation of evidentiary material that could contain DNA.

On Wednesday, Maryland exoneree Kirk Bloodsworth testified before the Maryland legislature in favor of the abolition of the death penalty in Maryland.  Mr. Bloodsworth was convicted and sentenced to death for a rape and murder that he did not commit.  He spent nearly nine years on Maryland's death row before a DNA test proved that he could not have been the killer.  The DNA test also implicated the true killer, who subsequently plead guilty.  Mr. Bloodsworth, who serves on our Honorary Board, now speaks extensively on innocence issues and the death penalty.  To learn more about his wrongful conviction and how it happened, please…

On December 7, 2006, Maryland Governor Robert Ehrlich signed an executive order establishing the Maryland Forensic Sciences Advisory Board.  According to Governor Ehrlich, "the Board's primary goal is to ensure that forensic sciences are conducted in Maryland under the highest quality control procedures using the most modern equipment and technology."  The Board is also charged with addressing "the major challenges facing our crime labs today, including financing equipment upgrades, professional training, national accreditation and employee retention."  The Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project is disappointed in Governor Ehrlich's response to the crime lab problem in Maryland.  Maryland is still not in compliance with a…